Sara had been informed that she had a guest waiting. It came as a surprise to her since she received nothing from her friends that anyone of them was coming to visit. Nana Anne and another maid helped her to her wheelchair. To her surprise, it wasn't a friend waiting for her in the living room.

"Nyssa?" The other woman, who was sitting patiently immediately stood. "Nana Anne we will be fine here would you mind leaving us?" Sara whispered. The older woman nodded and left.

Nyssa immediately walked towards her and bent to reach her height. "Why didn't you call? I was worried" Her voice soothed her. She longed to see Nyssa and her presence comforted her in a way she never fully understood.

They both met in CC Jitters when she visited a few months after her divorce with Ava. The two hit it off and became really good friends though in the past couple of months, things shifted between them. It wasn't official yet, it wasn't something they talked about a lot. They just wanted to see how things go without pushing it too far and Sara was okay with that pace.

"Sorry, it's been a rough week. I would've called if I wasn't passed out all the time." she frowned. Honestly, with Ava being back, she hardly thought of Nyssa. Her mind was more occupied by pressing matters. She felt guilty but it was true, a part of her not calling was the fact that she was always too tired and didn't care to pick up the phone.

"Your ex-wife's house huh?" If Sara didn't know any better she would've thought Nyssa was jealous, well, she wasn't sure really but the tone of her voice sound suggestive.

"It's only for a few weeks. She insisted and of course Laurel wanted to come. I couldn't say no" Sara felt like somehow she owed her an explanation. Speaking of Laurel, she came running out of the guest room to look for her mommy.

"Aunt Nyssa!" she exclaimed. Laurel and Nyssa were close. They get along very well and she had points for always bringing things whenever she visited just like she does now. Nyssa took out a set of gorgeous coloring materials and handed them to the little girl.

Laurel hugged her and kissed her before running back to grab the coloring book she loved so much.

"You need to stop spoiling her with all of these gifts" Sara smiled. She appreciated Nyssa's efforts but she was getting embarrassed. Nyssa had spent so much on her gifts and they don't even give her anything in return

"I have a soft spot for Laurel, you know that" They talked for some time while Laurel colored. They talked about the mission and how Sara was, how she was settling in the new house and other things. Moments later Nyssa joined Laurel as they colored flowers and swirls.

They heard laughter and hushed voices coming toward them. Sara immediately recognized those voices and she stilled. Her eyes immediately locked on Nyssa's. She didn't think that Ava would come home anytime soon. She was suddenly anxious of what Ava might think; after all she didn't ask permission for Nyssa to be here.

When both Ava and her sister stopped at the living room she started talking. "Ava, hey. I'm sorry I didn't get to tell you but umm...this was a little unexpected" She introduced Nyssa and both women shook hands

The tension grew in the house. Both women are intimidating in their own right but with both of them intimidating each other, was a completely different story. Sara can barely breathe so she tried standing up. When her legs failed her both Ava and Nyssa came to her rescue. They almost had a stare down competition where they stood but Ava lets her go first. She leaned closer to Nyssa for support.

"Nice to finally meet you Ava, Sara has told me all about you" yeah right when they talked on drunken nights where she cried and talked shit about their marriage and how much she hated Ava on the phone.

She almost hid herself under the sofa when Ava replied. "Funny, she never said anything about you" Ava smiled, her gaze shifted from Nyssa to Sara and the shorter blonde looked down to the floor unable to look at her ex-wife straight in the eyes.

"Hey little bean, what you got there?" the taller blonde placed the heavy box on the floor and kissed her daughter on the cheeks.

"Aunt Nyssa gave them to me" the little girl smiled. Sara almost stopped breathing. She knew Ava and she knew what was going on her mind and with Nyssa starting to act territorial it's not going to go well. She adds this meeting in the list of possible fights in the future she needs to get ready for.

"That's so nice of her. Did you say thank you?" the tone of Ava's voice seemed sarcastic but it was subtle. The little girl nodded. Ava asked for a kiss on the cheek and little Laurel gladly gave her one.

"Hey Nyssa, you're back in town?" she heard her sister speak up. She finally sat back down the sofa unable to stand any longer.

"Only for a couple of days, came to check in on this one. I had to know from Oliver." Oliver and Nyssa were almost engaged, arranged by their families but it never came to pass. Now they remain sort of friends.

"Oliver told you and yet never visited" she rolled her eyes. She was joking of course she knew that the mayor was busy with a city to run.

"You know how Ollie is" Laurel replied.

***

Ava finally stood and cleared her throat grabbing everyone's attention. "Laurel and I should take these to the guest room." She looked at her ex- sister in law in an 'I need to speak to you in private' look in which she understood quickly.

"Nyssa? Really? It's been just a year and she moved on already?" she exasperatedly whispered when they were out of earshot. She sloppily opened the door with one hand and kept on ranting. "Laurel even called her Aunt Nyssa! I mean why wouldn't she like her? She bribes her with gifts..." her ranting stopped when she saw Laurel smiling.

"What? Why are you smiling like an idiot?" she asked.

"I'll tell you when you tell me why you're acting like a jealous teenager" her brows furrowed.

"I am not a jealous teenager!" She replied deadpan. Of course she isn't. Why would she be jealous? Aside from the fact that Nyssa was tall, dark-haired and a fake brit there is nothing to be jealous of. Laurel had that smug face on with the look 'really?' plastered all over her face.

"I am an annoyed teenager" she replied with squinted eyes. Laurel laughed. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "But seriously... are they?" they started taking out the things in the box.

"I'm not supposed to tell. Sister Confidentiality" Laurel placed the picture frame in the side table.

"Oh come on Laurel, were sisters too, you said it yourself were the...the Law Sisters and it's not really nice that you're taking Sara's side on this one. It hurts" she continued refolding the clothes and stacked them.

"Guilt trip. A new low for you Sharpe" Ava continued to fold. "Fine. Only coz I love you" the taller blonde grinned. She pumped her fist down and murmured a quiet yes! in triumph.

Laurel told her the things Sara talked to her about. How their friendship turned into something more after one kiss. She told Ava that Sara liked Nyssa and she made her happy. Ava's heart sank. It hurt to hear that Sara was moving on but she couldn't really blame her.

"Thanks Laur" she said, her tone a little disappointed.

"If it makes any difference, I'm still rooting for you" the other woman winked.

Laurel left her in the room to think things through. A million thoughts ran on her mind. It was stupid that she is feeling this way. She knew from the moment she stepped out of the plane that she had nothing to come back to here but their daughter, but she couldn't blame herself, she loved Sara.

***

Ava was getting more and more pissed. Nyssa wanted to take Laurel out for ice cream and given that Sara is incapacitated she was the one who had to go with them. Laurel volunteered to stay with Sara. There was a local shop near the city, the favorite of the family, and apparently Nyssa too.

Every tradition they used to have, Nyssa knew. Her daughter and the brunette spoke as she drove. They talked about how Nyssa took her to the zoo and that she missed Laurel so much. She spoke as if she and Laurel had a tight knit relationship and she hated her for it. True she wasn't jealous of Nyssa and Sara but she sure was jealous of the closeness her daughter have with this stranger, the closeness they're supposed to have, used to have.

Ava fetched Laurel from ballet class every single day to meet with Sara in their favorite local ice cream shop. They would order the largest bowl and share it together. Every single time was a treat because Laurel gets to choose. She'd pick different flavors and toppings to keep things interesting.

The little girl would tell them about her class and how well her day went. They would enjoy the cold treat filled with laughter.

"Can mommy have some?" Sara opened her mouth and the little girl immediately scooped out the ice cream, bubble gum and strawberry flavor drenched in chocolate sauce and sprinkles.

Her heart warmed seeing her girls. She laughed at her wife when her face was stained with chocolate. "Baby you have a little something" she wiped the chocolate off and met her with a kiss.

Laurel, who was being extra playful dipped her finger on the side of the bowl and swiped the chocolate on Ava's nose. "Oh Honey! What did you do?" she playfully pinched the little girls nose. She took a tissue and wiped it off.

Her wife and daughter were cooking up an evil plot while she was distracted. They put chocolates on their lips and caught her off guard.

"Attack!" Sara ordered. She didn't time to cover her face when she was showered with sticky, chocolatey kisses.

Ava itched to come home. She hated every bit of this trip but Laurel loved it. She was enjoying and genuinely having fun and she felt left out. She was silent the entire time. They decided to take the ice cream back at the house.

If the world was trying to get under her nerves it is doing a pretty good job. Nyssa was apparently invited for dinner because Laurel wanted Aunt Nyssa to stay. She had to sit through the entire thing with a fake smile. Good thing Sara's sister was there. It made the entire thing bearable.

She didn't talk much just the occasional nodding and brief replies. The dinner could be best described as awkward.

"So Nyssa, tell us what you do again?" She asked, interrupting the fun conversation the other woman had with little Laurel.

"I umm.. I work for my father. We own a private security company" Nyssa replied. "If you're interested I can arrange something for you seeing you're a big time and all" Ava doesn't know if she is overanalyzing everything but her tone was almost insulting

"Interesting, but I can manage" she replied with a smug smile on her face.

Thankfully Nyssa didn't stay longer. She didn't know how long she could hold the façade anymore.

Nana Anne took Laurel to bathe and she and Sara saw everyone out. She was about to push her wheelchair when Sara spoke.

"I can take care of myself" It sounded a little cold.

"Do we have a problem?" Ava asked. She wasn't stupid. There was something bothering Sara but she didn't push.

"Nothing" Sara used her hands to turn the wheels of the wheelchair, her back against her. She was about to reply when the shorter blonde turned around. "Actually, we do. I was going to apologize for surprising you with Nyssa but the way you acted today was unacceptable."

Oh Sara was angry, but all the pent up annoyance she held was starting to bubble up too. First day and they were already starting a fight. She wanted to stop herself before she spoke, she wanted to apologize and walk away but she needed to blow off some steam.

"I was acting unacceptable? Hey! Your girlfriend waltzed in here thinking it was okay to steal the day with her British accent and expensive gift showers to win our little girl over. You're not happy with how I acted but guess what I wasn't actually all psyched to have her here."

"Wow! What is the matter with you? She was kind and nice the entire time she was here! The same thing couldn't be said about you." Their voices were starting to get louder. The conversation became more and more heated as they went on.

This almost feels like what they do before. The littlest of things can expand to a more intense conversation and this is what they're doing right now. It started out with Nyssa and then they brought up how Ava had made little effort to see Laurel.

"Maybe if you showed up on days that actually mattered you wouldn't feel so threatened by people who you think would steal your daughter's attention!" Sara almost tried standing up.

Everyone had things bottled up, everyone had a lot to say and it's pouring out, hatred and bitterness along with it. The conversation went on and on but they craved for more, they ached for more. This is who they are. One would always be a bomb and the other a fire. When they meet all hell breaks loose.

"Bullshit Ava! For once please stop using what you've been through as an excuse for everything you've done to ruin this marriage!"

"Excuse?! Hell you have no idea what I have been through! So don't even pretend that you know because you don't know how it feels to.." She didn't even finish the sentence when Sara cut her off

"To what?! I lost a child that day too Ava!" Sara finally had the strength to stand up. She took a step closer to the taller blonde. "I lost him too and you weren't the only one who was hurting" she said with a lower but stern voice. Tears started to form in her eyes.

A tear fell from Ava's cheeks. She felt weak. She couldn't bring herself to speak because Sara was right it was her fault, everything was her fault.

They had experienced miscarriage before. It was the first time Ava carried and she lost the baby before they knew she was pregnant. The doctor said it was normal. The odds of carrying at the first go with invitro are low so they didn't give up and tried again.

Laurel was two now and they wanted to add a new member in the family. Months after the miscarriage, Ava became pregnant. They were excited. Finally their little princess will have a little brother or sister.

Ava loved the idea of becoming a mom, with her carrying this time around but she hated the thought of not having to go to work. So she begged Sara to let her continue practicing. She promised to do light work and take things easy.

It wasn't long before she was in her second trimester. They already started buying things for the nursery. It was already repainted with a neutral color so that it would be easier when they found out the baby's gender which later on was revealed to be a he.

Around this time however Ava had been working on a tough case. A client was wrongly accused of third degree murder and a man in deep pockets wanted him prosecuted. Ava worked day and night to win the case that it took a toll on her.

Sara was worried of course she would warn her that it wasn't safe for the baby to be in a stressful environment and she didn't listen.

In the middle of the trial, the interrogation of the witness got heated. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain on her lower back and a burning pain in her core. She tried to ignore it but the pain persisted.

"are you okay attorney?" the judge asked. The pain grew stronger and she felt a pool of hotness running down her legs.

She knew what was happening and she was familiar with it only this time it's much more painful.

The next thing she knew she was laying down in a hospital bed, feeling numb. Her thoughts were interrupted when somebody opened her door. It was Sara, panting from a supposed run from the parking lot.

"Aves" Sara was blurred by the tears that formed in her eyes. She couldn't hold all the guilt and sadness in anymore. Seeing her wife with a worried and confused look pushed her over the edge.

"I'm sorry" that was all she could say over and over again. No apology could make up for what she has done. She was the reason their baby is dead. She killed him.

"I didn't mean to Sara.. I didn't mean to" she was shaking. She held on to her wife, finding the strength to ground herself but she couldn't stop from crying .

Sara comforted her with words. She told her that things were okay, they were going to be okay and that it wasn't her fault. The problem was that things didn't feel okay. Everything hurt. She feels everything and nothing at the same time. There was no more familiar feeling in her stomach. The bump was empty and it meant nothing more than a mistake she caused.

She hated herself. She hated work but it was better than seeing her wife and daughter every single day. She walked through the halls of her office and the courthouse feeling all the pain because she deserved it. She buried herself in work because it's what she does best.  After all work came before her child did, so she lived up to it.

She drowned herself in scotch and cases just to avoid thinking about the reality, the guilt, but none of those things helped. She tried to fix herself, for Sara, for Laurel but how does one fix what she cannot face?